Department for Education

Universities: Strikes

Lord Bailey of Paddington: To ask His Majesty's Government whatdiscussions they are having with universities about the marking of students’ examination and assessment papers given the current industrial action by university staff; and whether they plan to require universities to reimburse students whose papers have not been marked.

Baroness Barran: It is hugely disappointing that students, many of whom have already suffered during the pandemic, are facing further disruption and uncertainty. It is imperative that higher education (HE) institutions continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of their students.While the department plays no formal role in such disputes, we are concerned about the potential impact of the marking and assessment boycott on students, particularly those who are graduating and looking to enter the jobs market or progress to further study.The department understands that the vast majority of students will remain unaffected by the industrial action and, in most cases, will receive their full results on time and progress and/or graduate as normal.My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education has held discussions with the Russell Group, Universities UK and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) to better understand the boycott’s impact on students and the actions institutions are taking to minimise disruption. He has also written to the Russell Group and Universities UK, encouraging them to continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of students during this phase of industrial action.HE institutions are working on minimising the disruption to their students in a variety of ways, including reallocating marking to other staff members and hiring external markers. Many HE institutions can award degrees when they have enough evidence of a student’s prior attainment to do so. Others will be able to assign provisional grades to students to allow them to progress, and, once all papers have been marked, most institutions will award degree classifications that either remain as provisionally assigned or are uplifted to reflect the student’s achievements.On 12 June 2023, the Office for Students (OfS) wrote to institutions affected by the boycott to reiterate its expectations in relation to its conditions of registration. The OfS will continue to monitor this ongoing situation through their normal regulatory mechanisms and have published guidance to students on their rights during industrial action. This guidance is available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-rights-and-welfare/student-guide-to-industrial-action/.Students who have complaints about their HE experience should contact their institution in the first instance. Students in England and Wales may also raise a complaint with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), which was set up to provide an alternative to the courts and is free of charge to students. Depending on the complaint, the OIA may recommend that compensation be awarded. Whilst compensating students for disruption is the responsibility of HE institutions, the OIA expects institutions to comply with their recommendations. Further information is available at: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.The department will continue to engage with the HE sector over the coming weeks to help better understand the boycott’s impact on students and we hope an agreement between UCEA and University and College Union can be reached that delivers good value for students, staff and universities.

Department for Education: Email

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the email from the Secretary of State for Education to school leaders and others on 20 July entitled 'Thank you for your work this year', (1) how many people were sent that email, (2) what proportion of recipients were sent it by virtue of (a) having signed up to receive it, (b) being school leaders, or (c) both, (3) what were the open rates for that email in respect of each of the categories above, and (4) what codes of guidance around the political nature of emails govern the (i) tone, and (ii) content, sent to headteachers by the Secretary of State.

Baroness Barran: The end of term email from the Secretary of State was sent to 45,418 email addresses. Of those recipients:27,064 were subscribers who had opted to receive these updates from the Secretary of State.21,850 were school leader contact email addresses held by the department for school leaders (all primary and secondary schools (England only), including specialist settings. This includes Pupil Referral Units and Alternative Provision providers, but excludes independent schools, such as trust accounting officers.To note: the email platform used removes any duplication between these two data sets, so the final figure (45,418 email addresses) is not a sum of a) and b).The email has a 45% unique open rate. It was opened 60,245 times as of 26 July 2023, indicating that it had been forwarded beyond the original contact list. The open rate cannot be broken down by categories of school leaders versus subscribers.As with all departmental communications, Civil Service advice is provided on tone and content, along with factual accuracy checks to ensure it meets the needs of the audience it is intended for.

Teachers

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the Full Time Equivalent number of teachers employed in state schools in England in each of the last five years; and what is the corresponding pupil teacher ratio for each of these years.

Baroness Barran: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.Recent data shows that there are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England. This is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes the highest number of FTE teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.Information on the state funded school workforce in England, including the number of teachers and pupil to teacher ratios, is published in the annual ‘School Workforce in England’ national statistics release, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

T-levels

Lord Baker of Dorking: To ask His Majesty's Government which institutions were responsible for devising the curriculum of each T Level currently being taught.

Baroness Barran: T Levels are based on employer-led standards, with the initial, outline content developed by panels of employers and other experts. A list of panel members who developed outlines for T Levels for delivery between 2020 and 2023 can be found in the attachment. Over 250 employers of all sizes have been involved in the design and content of T Levels. This, alongside the industry placement element of the course, equips more young people with the skills, knowledge, and experience to access skilled employment or further study, and ensures the course content meets the needs of employers.The content and assessment approach for each T Level is then further developed by the awarding organisations contracted to develop each T Level. T Level providers decide how best to develop a curriculum that ensures students are able to progress in their learning, undertake a large industry placement and succeed in the assessments for the core and specialist learning. Providers can access free support for issues around curriculum design and assessment from the T Level Professional Development offer. In addition, the T Level Support for Schools and Colleges website offers a range of support for providers to guide them through the implementation of T Levels, including information on delivery of the classroom aspects of T Levels. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is currently reviewing the support for providers offered by Awarding Organisations in advance of the second generation of T Levels, which has included consideration of teaching and assessment resource requirements. IfATE is also working with Awarding Organisations to ensure the materials are clearly signposted on their websites.HL9598_attachment (pdf, 289.6KB)

Department for Education: Artificial Intelligence

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany automated decision-making systems are currently in use by the Department for Education, even partially, to make decisions that affect people’s legal rights or entitlements; and how many of those systems have publicly available equality impact assessments or data protection impact assessments or both.

Baroness Barran: I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 24 July 2023 to Question 194009.

Relationships and Sex Education: Northern Ireland

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to respond to the publication of the 44th Report by the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee on 22 June, in order to clarify (1) whether, and (2) how, a parent in Northern Ireland can excuse their child from Relationships and Sexuality Education.

Baroness Barran: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has welcomed the report by the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee.The Relationships and Sexuality Education (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 place a duty on the Northern Ireland Department of Education to introduce regulations to ensure that a pupil may be withdrawn from education on sexual and reproductive health and rights or elements of that education, at the request of a parent. This follows the approach taken in England and Scotland.The Northern Ireland Department of Education has confirmed it will consult on both the guidance and the provisions for the circumstances in which a pupil may be excused from the education or specified elements of that education.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education: Mental Health

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government, following the reported increase in (1) poor mental health of students, and (2) the risk of teenage suicide, whether they plan to introduce a level 2 qualification in mental health awareness and suicide prevention as a mandatory part of the PSHE curriculum in schools and colleges for 11–18 year olds.

Baroness Barran: Health education became a statutory part of the school curriculum in September 2020 for all pupils in state-funded schools of compulsory school age.The aim of teaching pupils about physical health and mental wellbeing is to give them the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, recognise issues in themselves and others and, when issues arise, seek support as early as possible from appropriate sources.At primary school, pupils will learn to recognise and talk about their emotions, the benefits of exercise and simple self-care techniques. At secondary school, pupils will learn about common types of mental ill-health and how to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns. Schools can teach older pupils about suicide prevention in an age appropriate and sensitive way.The department has brought forward the review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance, which will include working with a range of stakeholders and experts over the summer to consider the evidence for making suicide prevention a part of the statutory RSHE curriculum. As part of this, the department will work closely with Three Dads Walking, following their meeting with the Secretary of State for Education on 22 May. In addition, a workshop was held with teachers and roundtable meetings with a panel of experts and families have also taken place.A full public consultation on an amended draft of the statutory guidance will take place in the autumn with a view to publishing the final version in 2024.The statutory nature of the subjects means that all pupils will be taught this content during their time at school. The government does not have any plans to introduce qualifications linked to the content of the RSHE curriculum.

Family Hubs: Parents

Lord Farmer: To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent the Reducing Parental Conflict Programme is embedded in Family Hub services, particularly in local authorities that received money from the Family Hubs Transformation Fund.

Baroness Barran: Family hubs are ‘one stop shops’ that make it easier for families to get the support they need. The hub approach means professionals and partners work together more effectively, with a focus on supporting and strengthening family relationships. The department is investing in 87 local authorities to develop family hubs in their areas. We have developed guidance and expectations for these participating local authorities, working across government to reflect a range of services to be accessed through their family hubs. This has included working with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop the expectations on family hubs around Reducing Parental Conflict. Reducing Parental Conflict is embedded within the service expectations for family hubs. This means that staff in the family hub should be able to help identify families who may benefit from reducing parental conflict support and connect them to appropriate support, such as online resources or more intensive support, such as structured support from a trained practitioner. The expectations for the family hubs funded through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme are available in the attached file.Expectations for the family hubs  (pdf, 291.7KB)

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ethiopia: Peace Negotiations

Lord Browne of Ladyton: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the African Union's ability and willingness to fulfil its mandate to monitor the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in Ethiopia.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The African Union (AU) plays an important role in regional stability. The UK believes in African leadership and supports the African Union's role in facilitating the implementation of Ethiopia's Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. We support the critical role that the AU Monitoring, Verification and Compliance Mission continues to play in contributing to more sustainable peace in northern Ethiopia.

Ukraine: Peace Negotiations

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had withmembers of the Nordic Council in regards to (1) achieving peace in Ukraine, and (2) preventing the spread of any hostilities to (a) Scandinavian, or (b) Baltic, countries.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Nordic and Baltic states are key UK partners in regional security, working closely through NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force, and together in support of Ukraine. We welcome Nordic countries' support for the G7 Joint Declaration agreeing long-term bilateral security commitments for Ukraine.In support of regional security and protecting NATO's Eastern Flank, the UK has deployed a significant military presence to Estonia as part of NATO's enhanced Forward Presence. The UK has been committed to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, which will strengthen Euro-Atlantic security. We welcome Finland's membership and are supporting Sweden's swift accession to the Alliance.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

The Duke of Montrose: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 20 July, what plans they have to convene a consultation among international partners on the restoration of safe passage for grain ships across the Black Sea.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The United Kingdom condemns in the strongest terms Russia's decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the Foreign Secretary has called on Russia to rejoin immediately. The UK will continue to explore options, with Ukraine and other partners, to enable Ukraine to continue exporting its grain. A NATO-Ukraine Council is being convened on 26 July to discuss Black Sea Security.

India: Human Rights

Lord Browne of Ladyton: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made (1) of the resilience of current human rights protections in India, and (2) how human rights issues may affect current and future strategic and security partnerships with India as part of their “Indo-Pacific Tilt”.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The British High Commission in New Delhi consistently monitors human rights across India. The UK Government has a broad and deep partnership with the Government of India and we discuss all elements of our relationship, including human rights, and raise issues where we have them. Both our countries are committed to transforming defence and security cooperation and to enhancing engagements in support of a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific.

Falkland Islands

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they made to the EU on the issue of the Falkland Islands prior to the EU’s summit with the CELAC group.

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the EU following the EU–CELAC Declaration of 18 July and the statement it included on the Falkland Islands.

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings they have arranged with the EU following the EU–CELAC Declaration of 18 July and the statement it included on the Falkland Islands.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is unequivocal, including with the EU and its Member States, that there can be no discussions on sovereignty unless the Falkland Islanders wish. In a referendum in 2013, the Islanders overwhelmingly decided to remain part of the UK family. Ahead of the EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Summit, the UK engaged with the EU, at senior official and Ministerial level, to underline the risks that any language on the Falklands would be misrepresented by Argentina as the EU taking a position on the issue. Following publication of the Summit communique we again engaged to express our disappointment at the language used, and to request that the EU publicly clarify that their position has not changed, and that they do not endorse the Argentinian position. They have since done so.

Central African Republic: Wagner Group

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current (1) role, and (2) influence, of the Wagner Group in the Central African Republic.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Wagner has been present in Central African Republic (CAR) since 2018 and have approximately 1000 troops in the country. They provide security for the Government of CAR in exchange for mining rights. As the UN's Quarterly Brief on the Human Rights Situation in CAR makes clear, Wagner are directly responsible for multiple breaches of International Humanitarian Law including numerous reports of indiscriminate killings of unarmed civilians. On 20 July the UK Government announced a wave of sanctions against individuals and businesses involved with the Wagner Group in CAR, Mali and Sudan.

Cyprus: Property

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the government of Northern Cyprus to open the town of Maraş/Varosha and invite Greek Cypriot property owners to reclaim their properties.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state. The UK recognises the Republic of Cyprus as the sovereign authority for the island of Cyprus. The UK supports the numerous United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) covering the issue of Varosha, the alongside the related 2021 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Statement. On 12 July the UK, as UNSC President, issued a press statement on Cyprus stressing the need to avoid unilateral actions which could raise tensions on the island and undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement.

India: Christianity

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of churches being destroyed through violence in Manipur in India; and what support, if any, they are offering to the Christian community there.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Our network in India continues to follow closely reports of violence, including vandalism of places of worship, in Manipur state. The UK Government has a broad and deep partnership with the Government of India, and we discuss all elements of our relationship. I [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad] raised the current situation in Manipur with the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, during my visit to India in May. The British High Commissioner to India and our Deputy High Commissioner for East and Northeast India have met with numerous communities over the last year, including visiting both Christian and Hindu places of worship.

Cabinet Office

Malnutrition: Death

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government how many deaths occurred in England and Wales in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022, where malnutrition was either the cause of death or was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government how many deaths that occurred in England and Wales in the past four years mentioned gambling anywhere on the death certificate.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.Please see the response attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.  The Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of St AlbansHouse of LordsLondonSW1A 0PW 25 July 2023 Dear Lord Bishop, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many deaths occurred in England and Wales in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021 and (4) 2022 where malnutrition was either the cause of death or was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate (HL9519); and how many deaths that occurred in England and Wales in the past four years mentioned gambling anywhere on the death certificate (HL9520). The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. Causes mentioned on the death certificate are converted to International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, with the underlying cause of death defined as the disease or injury that initiated the events that directly lead to the death. At the ONS, we use the term “due to” to refer to the underlying cause of a death and the term “involving” where a cause is mentioned anywhere on the death certificate. The ICD codes for malnutrition are E40 to E46, which come under the endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases sub-chapter. This consists of: • E40- Kwashiorkor• E41- Nutritional Marasmus• E42- Marasmic kwashiorkor• E43- Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutrition• E44- Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degree• E45- Retarded development following protein-energy malnutrition• E46- Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition Table 1 shows the number of deaths due to and involving malnutrition ICD-10 codes, that occurred from 2019 to 2022, and were registered by 7 July 2023, in England and Wales. Deaths due to malnutrition are very uncommon; mortality data and hospital admissions both show that malnutrition is usually accompanied with several other diagnoses. Further information on the nature of malnutrition as a cause of death can be found on our blog [1] . The ICD codes for gambling consist of: • Z72.6- Gambling and betting• F63.0- Pathological gambling There were no deaths in the past four years involving gambling ICD-10 codes registered in England and Wales. While these codes exist, they are likely to be used only in the case of medically diagnosed gambling addiction. To identify some deaths involving gambling, we can also use the coroner’s text report from deaths registered involving suicide (ICD codes X60 to X84, Y10 to Y34). It is possible that more suicides were related to gambling, but this cannot be definitively stated, as not all the circumstances are necessarily known or reported in the death registration by the coroner. Table 2 shows the number of deaths where gambling was mentioned in the coroner’s text, that occurred from 2019 to 2022, and were registered by 31 December 2022 [2] , registered in England and Wales. Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond Table 1: Numbers of deaths due to and involving malnutrition, deaths occurring from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022, England and Wales [3,4,5,6].YearDue to malnutritionInvolving malnutrition201976390202078383202185398202267386Source: Office for National Statistics Table 2: Numbers of deaths involving intentional self-harm and events of undetermined intent where gambling was mentioned in the coroner’s text, deaths occurring from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022, England and Wales [4,7,8].YearInvolving gambling20194202042021120220Source: Office for National Statistics [1] https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2018/02/14/deaths-involving-malnutrition-have-been-on-the-rise-but-nhs-neglect-is-not-to-blame/[2] For information on the impact of registration delays please see: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/impactofregistrationdelaysonmortalitystatisticsinenglandandwales/latest[3] Figures are for deaths occurring in each period and registered by 7 July 2023.[4] Figures include deaths of non-residents.[5] International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (ICD-10) codes are as follows; E40, Kwashiorkor; E41, Nutritional marasmus; E42, Marasmic kwashiorkor; E43, Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutrition; E44, Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degree; E45, Retarded development following protein-energy malnutrition; E46, Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition.[6] Number of deaths by ICD-10 code are available through our explorable dataset NOMIS from 2013 onwards, this can be accessed here: Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk)[7] Figures are for deaths occurring in each period, and registered by 31 December 2022; death registration data for 2023 are provisional and do not yet provide coroner’s text information.[8] International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (ICD-10) codes are as follows; X60 to X84 and Y10 to Y34. UK Statistics Authority (pdf, 176.7KB)

Peers: Correspondence

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to respond to the letter from Lord Hylton to the Prime Minister dated 11 July, calling for a UN inquiry into the conditions in which Mr Abdullah Ocalan is being held in Turkey, and in particular into threats to his life.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Prime Minister's office has no record of receiving this correspondence. If Lord Hylton would kindly like to supply a further copy, a reply will be sent.

Ministry of Justice

Marriage

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the urgency of the need for marriage law reform, with particular reference to protection and prevention for women whose religious marriage ceremonies do not comply with legal requirements and may not be legally recognised.

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bellamy on 8 November 2022 (HL2958 and HL2957) when their response to the Law Commission’s report Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law published on 19 July 2022 will be published.

Lord Bellamy: The Government shares the concern that some people, and disproportionately women, may have a religious wedding that is not legally binding, and does not provide legal protections, without appreciating the consequences.We are carefully considering the Law Commission’s recommendations on weddings reform. As part of its review, the Law Commission has considered ways of ensuring there are fewer religious wedding ceremonies that result in a marriage which the law does not recognise.Marriage will always be one of our most important institutions, and we have a duty to consider the implications of any changes to the law in this area very carefully. We are now taking the time to consider the report’s recommendations and will publish a response shortly.

Cybercrime: Prosecutions

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest: To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions have been made under section one of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, for each of the past 13 years.

Lord Bellamy: The Ministry of Justice holds data on prosecutions under Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, covering the period requested. This is publicly available and can be viewed via the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Information on the number of individuals prosecuted under Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 at all courts can be found in the above tool by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab. In the ‘HO Offence code’ filter, select the offence:05354 - Unauthorised access to computer materialThe data requested can be found in the attached table.Table (xlsx, 15.6KB)

Marriage: Ceremonies

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of current marriage law in an inclusive multi-faith society.

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the compliance of the Marriage Act 1949 and other marriage law with the right to freedom of religion or belief, when Church of England and Church in Wales marriage ceremonies fulfil legal requirements and are legally recognised, while other religious ceremonies may not be.

Lord Bellamy: The law makes provision for couples to marry in registered places of worship in a way that gives them legal rights and protections. Couples may choose instead to have a religious-only celebration alongside a legally binding civil ceremony.However, the Government does share the concern that some people may have a wedding ceremony that does not give them legal rights and protections, without appreciating the consequences.As part of its review, the Law Commission made recommendations which seek to ensure that, insofar as possible, couples are provided the same opportunities to legally marry in a way that reflects their beliefs. This would mean fewer ceremonies conducted according to religious rites result in a marriage that the law does not recognise.The Government is considering its report carefully and will respond in due course.

Diamonds: Smuggling

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government how many convictions there have been in the UK in the past five years for the (1) smuggling, or (2) sale, of conflict diamonds.

Lord Bellamy: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on prosecutions, convictions, and sentence outcomes in the Outcomes by Offence data tool, including offences as set out in the Offence Group Classification. This can be found via the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).However, it is not possible to identify the type of item that was smuggled or sold as this is not held centrally in the Court Proceeding Database.

Ministry of Defence

Military Bases: Iron and Steel

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure steel used for alterations and additions to UK armed forces bases is manufactured in the UK.

Baroness Goldie: The Ministry of Defence follows the Government policy on the procurement of steel as set out in the Procurement Policy Note: Procuring Steel in Major Projects (ref: PPN11/16), and its steel requirements are published in the Government’s Annual Steel Public Procurement Report. All projects scheduled for the next 10 years are assessed on a case-by-case basis where there is an anticipated need to use steel as part of their delivery, stating if this can be procured in the UK.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Coussins: To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghan interpreters who worked with the British armed forces in Afghanistan have to date been relocated to the UK under (1) ARAP, (2) the Intimidation Policy, (3) the Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme, and (4) any other relevant scheme; and in each case how many were relocated (a) directly from Afghanistan, and (b) from a third country.

Baroness Goldie: Under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme we have so far relocated an estimated 12,200 individuals - principal applicants and their family members - to the UK. We have relocated an estimated 526 principal applicants under the Ex-Gratia Scheme (EGS) and four principal applicants under the Intimidation Policy (IIU). Due to data constraints, we are currently unable to provide figures for Ex Gratia and Intimidation Policy principals' family members. We are also unable to break down figures for ARAP, EGS or IIU by job role and due to operational sensitivities, we cannot provide the requested information on locations.

Ministry of Defence: Workplace Pensions

Lord De Mauley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for recent increases in interest rates to provide them with an opportunity to address the Ministry of Defence’s historical pension liability.

Baroness Goldie: The Armed Forces Pension Scheme (APFS) is, like the majority of public service pension schemes, an unfunded scheme. As with all unfunded pension schemes, they are paid for only by the taxpayer and have no cash or investments to fund pensions in payment or past liabilities. As such, increases in interest rates will not reduce the Ministry of Defence (MOD)'s historical pension liability for the AFPS, which is driven by the SCAPE (Superannuation Contributions Adjusted for Past Experience) discount rate and other assumptions set by His Majesty's Treasury and MOD.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Coussins: To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghan interpreters who worked with the British armed forces in Afghanistan who have applied to be relocated to the UK under (1) ARAP, (2) the Intimidation Policy, (3) the Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme and (4) any other relevant scheme are awaiting security clearance before travelling; and in each case how manyhave applied (a) directly from Afghanistan and (b) from a third country.

Baroness Goldie: We estimate that there are approximately 4,300 individuals (principal applicants plus family members) left to relocate to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).In addition, we are supporting four individuals eligible under the Ex-Gratia Scheme (EGS) who are still actively wishing to take up their EGS offer to relocate to the UK.

Department of Health and Social Care

Mental Health Services: LGBT+ People

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provideLGBTQ+ relevant mental health services.

Lord Markham: We remain committed to the aims of the NHS Long Term Plan, investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year in expanding and transforming mental health services in England by March 2024. This extra funding will enable an extra two million people, including those who identify as LGBT, to be treated by National Health Service mental health services by March 2024.The funding includes £110 million to expand adult mental health services including NHS Talking Therapies (formerly known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies). In 2021/22, there were 1.81 million referrals to talking therapies in England, compared to 1.46 million in 2020/21. 1.24 million referrals started a course of treatment within this year.We also provided an additional £500 million in 2021/22 to accelerate our expansion plans to address waiting times for mental health services, give more people the mental health support they need, and invest in the NHS workforce.The Advancing Mental Health Equalities strategy published by NHS England in 2020 helps set expectations for providers and commissioners to identify opportunities and drive forwards improvements to address inequalities in access to and experience of mental health services. The strategy supports local systems to tailor services to meet the needs of their local populations, including LGBTQ+ people. This includes improvements to the quality and use of data and information, for example the Equality Data Quality Guidance to help improve the collection of demographic data in the Mental Health Services Dataset, and a range of initiatives to improve diversity and representation in the mental health workforce.

Neural Tube Defects

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask His Majesty's Government how many babies born in England between January 2012 and December 2022 had neural tube defects; and how many pregnancies were terminated in that period because of neural tube defects.

Lord Markham: In the period January 2012 to December 2021, there were 8,052 mentions of congenital malformations of the nervous system under Ground E abortions for residents of England and Wales within both nations. Information on neural tube defects is published by number of mentions rather than number of pregnancies terminated, and it is possible for a pregnancy to have more than one neural tube defect. Data for January to December 2022 is not yet available and is due to be published in January 2024.Data from the National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service shows that between 2015 and 2021, there were 3,124 babies born in England who had neural tube defects.

Hospices: Integrated Care Boards

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to fund individual hospices directly where integrated care boards are unable to provide sufficient support.

Lord Markham: There are no plans for the Government to fund individual hospices directly.As stated in the Health and Care Act 2022, integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative and end of life care services, which may include services delivered by independent charitable hospices, in response to the needs of their local population. NHS England has actively increased its support to local commissioners to improve the accessibility, quality and sustainability of palliative and end of life care services for all. This has included the publication of statutory guidance and service specifications.The exception to funding hospices via ICBs is the Children’s Hospice Grant, which has provided funding direct to hospices since 2007. In June 2023, NHS England confirmed that it would be renewing the grant for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million grant funding for children’s hospices. NHS England will confirm details of the allocation mechanism in due course.

Hospices: Integrated Care Boards

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce a model NHS hospice contract for integrated care boards.

Lord Markham: The NHS Standard Contract is mandated by NHS England for use by commissioners for all contracts for healthcare services, other than primary care, and may be used in relation to hospices. The Contract (in full-length and shorter-form versions) has now been updated for 2023/24. As such, NHS England has no plans to introduce a model NHS hospice contract for integrated care boards.

Clinical Trials: Applications

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask His Majesty's Government whatpercentage of applications to undertake clinical trials that require MHRA approval are completed within 30 days; and how many such applications were received in the last 12 months.

Lord Markham: A total of 587 valid clinical trial authorisation applications were received and assessed during the period of July 2022 to June 2023. Out of the 587, 100 applications were assessed within 30 days (17.04%).

Clinical Trials: Rare Cancers

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had withEuropean health ministers regarding working together to capture data from clinical trials for less common cancers, such as brain tumours.

Lord Markham: Following the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has not had recent discussions with European health ministers regarding collaboration to capture data from clinical trials for less common cancers, such as brain tumours.

Department for Business and Trade

Iron and Steel: Procurement

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of organisations and projects across government that will provide data for the 2024 steel procurement pipeline.

The Earl of Minto: Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 04/23 clearly identifies procurements for which Central Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies are expected to provide steel procurement pipelines to the Department of Business and Trade, for publication on GOV.UK. The next publication will include steel procurement pipelines data from these organisations in line with PPN 04/23.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Statutory Instruments

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the (1) number, and (2) subject matter, ofstatutory instruments the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs plans to publish before the end of 2023.

Lord Benyon: Defra continues to pursue an ambitious agenda of legislation in 2023. This programme will be brought forward in the usual way, which includes seeking agreement from the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee, giving stakeholders time to engage with our proposals and following the Better Regulation Framework processes. Our programme will broadly seek to drive innovation, improve environmental outcomes and support British farmers to produce the food that we need.

Poultry: Gun Sports

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government how many domestically reared ducks have been released for the shooting industry; what assessment they have made of the conditions in which such birds live; what assessment they have made of the risk of avian flu and other diseases following these releases; what drug treatments are used for these diseases; and what assessment they have made of the risks these treatments represent.

Lord Benyon: Defra does not hold data on the number of ducks released for shooting. Defra publishes all its risk assessments on GOV.UK as part of the ‘Animal diseases: international and UK monitoring’ collection and continues to monitor the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in both wild and kept birds, working with the game farming sector and conservation bodies, and will keep the need for further risk assessments under review. No products have a market authorisation for treatment of HPAI in poultry (including ducks reared for shooting) and vaccination of poultry against avian influenza is not permitted. No recent assessment has been made of the conditions in which such birds live. The welfare of ducks while they are being reared for shooting is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (until such time as they are released in the wild), which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal. In addition, the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes provides advice on husbandry, housing and management.

Dangerous Dogs

Lord McInnes of Kilwinning: To ask His Majesty's Government how many attacks have been made on humans and dogs by American Bully XLs since January 2022.

Lord Benyon: Defra does not collect this data. Hospital Episode Statistics published by NHS Digital include numbers of finished consultant episodes for hospital admissions in England that were caused by a dog bite or strike. Information on the breed type involved in dog control incidents may also be held by individual local authorities and police forces.

Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Artificial Intelligence

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government how many automated decision-making systems are currently in use by the Department for Transport, even partially, to make decisions that affect people’s legal rights or entitlements; and how many of those systems have publicly available equality impact assessments or data protection impact assessments or both.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Various analytical systems are used in the Department for Transport to inform decisions that are ultimately made by Ministers. These systems are, however, designed to provide insight at an aggregate level; they do not pertain to any particular individuals and are not based on any personal data. They therefore do not inform any decisions that have an effect on specific individual’s legal rights or entitlements. Consequently, no Data Protection Impact Assessments or Equality Impact Assessments have been published in relation to these systems. The department publishes a list of business-critical models that provides details of their purposes.